When rules started to rule: the IMF, neo-liberal economic ideas and economic policy change in Britain

Austerity: Neoliberal dreams come true?

“…The ideological interests of even the IMF, the most unequivocal exponent of 'neoliberal' economic ideas, are interwoven with its purpose as a global actor and its constraints as an international organisation (Taylor, 2004;Mueller, 2011;Clift and Tomlinson, 2012). While elements of neoliberal economic practice clearly suit the financial sector for example, capital has no inherent desire for a 'free' market and neither are there monolithic prevailing business interests that support a small state per se (see e.g.…”

Controlling Capital: The International Monetary Fund and Transformative Incremental Change from Within International Organisations

“…Second, while other recent scholarship notes that policy change often occurs incrementally within IOs (Clift and Tomlinson 2012;Moschella 2012), this article strengthens our understanding of it by identifying a set of scope conditions when it is likely to occur. Using insights from historical institutionalism, it also breaks new ground by exploring layering, a mechanism previously neglected in existing accounts of policy change originating from within IOs.…”

“…Path-dependent cultural barriers then constrain how intra-organisational contestation induces change, but at the same time tensions within an organisation's culture, like those within institutions (Pierson 2004: ch. 4), make it open to debates about interpretation and application thus providing space for change (Jabko 2007;Clift and Tomlinson 2012). Layering provides internal entrepreneurs with a way to respond to these opportunities and constraints.…”

Taking planning seriously: Compulsory purchase for urban planning in the Netherlands

“…Public policy instruments 'produce specific effects, independently of the objective pursued (the aims ascribed to them)' (Lascoumes & Le Galès, 2007, 3) Policy instruments address policy issues in particular ways (Clift & Tomlinson, 2011) and 'generate their own effects' (Newman, 2009, 3).…”